Every year the Griffith Park Senior Center of Los Angeles hosts a spring fair. It features craft booths, live music, dancing seniors, baked goods for sale, plants for sale, food trucks… and my favorite, the coveted book sale.
Hundreds upon hundreds of books are offered at prices so low it’s criminal. Hard covers are $1.00 each and paperbacks are $0.25 each. The books are all organized according to category for easy shopping. Hardcover Novels. Paperback novels. Mysteries. Biographies. Music. Reference. Cookbooks. Etc.
As a bookaholic I can barely sleep the night before the fair, knowing that the next morning I will be searching the shelves for books to add to my already extensive reading collection.
This year I bought 12 books for a whopping $7.50!
Every year, the first thing I do is make a beeline to the cookbook section. I love collecting cookbooks, and yes, I do make meals from the recipes I find in the books. This year I added three cookbooks and one wine book to my vast collection.
I then moved to the paperback novels.
As I perused a paperback of David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars, I noticed between pages 188 and 189 a piece of canvas with what appeared to be a painting on one side. Had I found a treasure within the pages that could possibly be worth a fortune?
Here is a photo of the lovely painting:
It’s 4 inches by 3 inches.
On the back written in pencil is:
To: David
From: Brad
B-day ‘95
Frame it!
From Artist in Mexico
Will I someday be on Antiques Roadshow and be told my little find is a long-lost masterpiece from a famous Mexican artist?
Well... David didn’t frame it. He apparently used it as a bookmark, and apparently stopped reading on page 189.
I think the painting is beautiful. It makes me smile. It also makes me want to make a fruit smoothie.
David’s loss is my gain.
I will definitely frame it, and when anyone comments how much they like it, I will have a tale to tell about how it came into my hands.
Who knows? Maybe Brad is reading my blog and will recognize the painting he gave his friend, or maybe David is reading my blog and will recognize the painting his friend gave him.
One thing for certain is that it’s mine now, and they’re not getting it back.
I love art.
-->
As for Snow Falling on Cedars… I promise to read past page 189.
Comments